About

Windward School is dedicated to producing well-balanced, creative individuals prepared to take on the ever-changing challenges of our world. Our students explore their multiple interests in a dynamic and academically rigorous environment while growing within a nurturing community with the guidance of passionate faculty and supportive classmates.

At the forefront of educational models and practices, Windward School strives to innovate and offer students educational opportunities that are unique, engaging, and relevant to life in the 21st century.

Programs

Fundamental to the Windward School philosophy is the belief that secondary education must engage more than the mind alone. Windward’s comprehensive and rigorous course of study is complemented by opportunities to participate in a wide range of extra-curricular experiences that foster further growth and development.

The School hopes its graduates will go forth from Windward with a strong sense of personal integrity, self-confidence, and pride in their particular talents, inspired by learning, and prepared for college and for life in the 21st century.

Innovation

Windward was founded as a school in which innovation would, by design, always be front and center. The pursuit and implementation of new ideas has been a hallmark of the school for more than four decades, resulting in a relentless search for new and better ideas that have made Windward into a leading independent school and a model for academic progress.

Community

Partnerships are at the heart of Windward School, whether among alumni members of the Windward Network, active volunteers of the Parent Guild, or civic organizations in our neighborhood of Mar Vista.

Windward strives to create a welcoming, inclusive environment that encourages participation in the life of the school while also offering opportunity for meaningful involvement and interaction with local friends and groups.

Giving

Since its founding more than four decades ago, Windward has continued to develop and prosper thanks to those community members, volunteers, foundations, and other friends who have given generously to ensure the continuous advancement of the school.

Whether giving of time or talent, there are many ways to make a difference in support of Windward’s students and ensure the future growth of our learning community.

Local Poet Leads Sophomore Workshop

11/5/2018

On Oct. 30, students in Windward’s 10th Grade Honors class were treated to a visit from local poet Douglas Manuel. On hand to perform and discuss his collection, Testify, Douglas also took time to teach students how to write and revise their own poetry. Douglas’ work focuses on the intersection of race and gender in his own life, and how his identity contrasts with the ways people commonly perceive him or the expectations they hold for him. He began by performing his "handshake" poem, a poem that introduces readers to a poet, instructing them on how to read a poet's work and how to catch the balls being juggled in different lines of each poem.

Students then asked questions about Douglas's word choices and pauses, and in doing so learned how a poem compresses and expands time, space, and meaning. Douglas also shared an earlier and later version of one of his poems to help students visualize how poems are revised, and to demonstrate his revision practice. Like detectives, students were tasked to read through each version, identify the differences between them, and then hypothesize as to why the changes were made. Douglas listened to their ideas and responded by sharing strategies for how he finds places in his poems to do the work of compressing or expanding. As students complete their own poetry unit and craft original compositions throughout the year, they will revise their work applying the same strategies.

Thank you to Douglas for sharing his stories and processes with our students! And thanks to Emily Miner, Brendan Constantine, and Suzie Hanrahan for facilitating the visit. For more on Douglas, visit his website.